Bloody Baby
by Broken Violet
Summary: She didn’t want him to hate her. And so she ran, like the coward she was, she ran.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

She gripped the strap of her bag tightly, silently hating herself. She was a coward—a pathetic and worthless coward. And she was afraid.

She feared the future. The future was filled with the unknown, and she couldn't protect herself from what she couldn't see. So she was running away from it, and inevitably, that meant running away from him.

She wanted to tell him why she was doing this. And yet, that was exactly the same reason she was leaving, so she didn't have to tell him. Her head and heart were telling her two different things, and she had followed her head, in an attempt to protect her heart.

He might have understood. He might have told her that everything would be okay, and that he didn't mind, and that the two of them, together, could still be happy. But then again, he might have looked at her with disgust, and left her alone and scared. Or even worse, he might have told her everything would be okay, and that he didn't mind, and that the two of them, together, could still be happy— but inside he was silently hating her.

She didn't want that. She didn't want him to hate her. And so she ran, like the coward she was, she ran.

In her life she had made many mistakes, and somehow, she felt this was the biggest of them all. But believing, thinking, and knowing this still didn't stop her. Even with this knowledge, her feet were still carrying her away from the happiness that had taken so long to build up.

Running quickly across the street she thought that maybe she was a masochist. For nearly half of her life she had shunned herself from the world, voluntarily living in a life of pain, dying alone inside her room. And then when happiness arrived, she always seemed to lose hold of it. And now, with no way to deny it, she was clearly throwing the happiness she had regained in the garbage can.

It didn't make sense. She didn't understand it herself, and yet they were her own actions. And so, she kept on running.

The crowd around her roared, and she hurriedly shrank into the closing train's doors, simply becoming an extra body— a person like every other, with everyday problems, just like everyone surrounding her. And that somewhat comforted her as the train began to move, taking her cowardly self away from her past and the future that once would have been, and toward the future that would be.

* * *

I love Cat Street. So yeah, this was bound to come sooner or later. This story takes place a while after the manga ends. I still haven't decided how long after though. I'll hopefully type and post chapter one soon, and it _will_ be longer than the prologue.

Reviews are always more than welcome. ;)


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One - Moonless Morning**

The night was a black blanket, completely absent of the small stars that sometimes scattered the sky. Only a sliver of the crescent shaped moon hung in the blankness above, the rest of its round body hidden under the blanket, as if hiding from the watchful eyes of everyone below.

But as she walked, solemnly, quietly, and completely alone down the long and empty road, following the glowing shape in the sky, she spoke to it as if speaking to a companion.

"It's late," she said, looking down at her cell phone that had died the day before, as if expecting to magically see the time flashing in red numbers across the front as it usually did. "I should go to bed."

Although, there was no bed, at least not on the long and seemingly endless road she was walking. And even though there were plenty of places she could go to find a place to sleep, they seemed as warm and happy an offering as the cold pavement that was beneath her feet.

And so, she kept on walking, following the only light she could visibly see.

"Kouichi," she said, this time solely to herself.

He had to be looking for her, worried that something terrible had happened. Something terrible had happened though, and that was the reason why in the long run, they would all be happier if he didn't find her.

She was doing this for him, she told herself as she sat down on a small bench that held a shabby plastic covering over the top of her, which read the words _Bus Stop_ in smudged black paint. She was doing this for her. And for one other person, who at the moment would still remain unnamed.

And so, with the cold, brisk and ticklish night air blowing across her bare arms, she curled up on the bench, and fell asleep.

She had a dream that night, or more correctly, a distorted memory. It was of the past, back when she still attended El Liston with Kouichi, Rei, and Momiji. The world though, which she had once known so well, was dripping in a crimson colored red.

Lines of red were running down the walls and faces of her friends. Only she seemed to notice it though. Because no matter how much she would scream, telling them what was happening; they ignored her, and continued with their idle conversation and chatter.

And when she was finally forced awake by a loud and demanding exhaustion pipe, with her hands and back pooled in sweat, she felt more alone than she had since the painfully long and endless days in her room.

So quietly, grabbing the bag that she had clung desperately to the night before, she slung it over her shoulder, before boarding the bus doors that were opened hopefully in front of her. Somewhere along the way, whether it had been while she was walking, or while she was sleeping, she had unconsciously decided where it was she was going.

She wanted to be near a friend. Be near to someone who she wouldn't trouble. But those two desires didn't quite go together very well. And she was selfish, so she had put her own want over the others. That's why she was going—going to one of the few people she truly trusted.

It was a stupid decision, she knew that. She would be a burden, and she would most likely hurt the people around her. But right now, she didn't care to or want to look that far ahead. Because the word friend seemed foreign and alien to her at the moment, and the companion she had had last night was gone when she had awoken. So being where she was, she was more than willing to risk it.

* * *

Took me a while to decide if I was satisfied with this chapter or not. I finally decided I was too lazy to try and rewrite it, thus that being the deciding factor. Laziness should have a cure.

And...review....please?


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two - Better Than Before**

Ding.

The feeling of being watched was frightening, like a blade too close to ones throat. She knew it was a fear she should have overcome long ago, or at least one that should have been tamed when she reappeared in the entertainment industry. But it hadn't.

Ding.

She could smile at the fans who wanted pictures, and she could act in movies where the entire crews' eyes would be on her, but only because it wasn't really her that they were looking at. It was the show she put on that they saw.

Ding.

But now that she had left, and was walking around with the word guilt written all over her face, she felt completely naked—like the eyes of everyone around her were daggers. Like any moment, _he_ would reappear.

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.

"**WHAT THE HELL IS IT?**" Someone yelled as the door in front of her swung open angrily, with a blonde mess only half dressed falling out of it. His hair was drenched in water, and he had one hand firmly grasping a towel, whose security around his waist could be questioned, while the other braced the door open in an exasperated manner.

She might have been embarrassed, less so by his lack of apparel and more by her actions, had she not been so relieved to see him.

"Rei!" she said in a high and exhilarated sigh of relief. She took a step forward, looking as if she were about to throw herself into his arms. But instead, she crumbled to the ground; her knee's smacking the floor in a distant sounding _thunk._

The last thing she heard before the world around her faded into a brilliantly bright haze of blue was a single confused and fearful word, "Keito?"

[l]

When she woke up, she didn't open her eyes. Because once she did, she would have to face the reality of everything around her. But with her eyes closed, she could ignore it, imagining that the smell of coffee and the sizzle of eggs on a skillet were nothing more than her husband up early for breakfast.

But that dreamful thought was shortly lived, as the refined sound of a chef in a kitchen was replace by the clang of metal against tile and an exasperated "ouch, dammit".

So unwilling opening her eyes, she subjected herself to the world around her. And as she looked around the small apartment room, she was slightly surprised by the disappointment that didn't drown her. It ended up feeling more like suffocation. Better, but still unbelievably painful.

Standing up, she followed her nose which was chasing after the scent of coffee in the air. It led her, as one might expect, to the kitchen, where a boy in an apron stood, his back turned towards her.

"Rei, can I have a cup?" she asked in a low voice as she leaned herself against the wall of the doorway, letting her head fall to the side and rest.

He turned around and smiled, gesturing his head towards the table, silently demanding that she sit down so he could serve her. "You're the only one here who likes hot coffee," he said as reached up and grabbed a mug from the cabinet above him.

"Thanks," Keito said, sitting down at the table, assuming that meant a yes, and feeling slightly uncomfortable and much like an imposition as he presented a steaming cup of black liquid in front of her.

She sipped on the drink quietly while he went back to cooking. And no sooner than she finished the last drop of coffee in her cup, was he was filling it up again, and putting a plate of eggs and meat in front of her.

The eggs were black and singed, and the slab of ham on the side didn't look any more promising. But she held back the chuckle that threatened to escape from her throat. Especially considering that he went to the trouble to cook a meal for her, and that she herself couldn't cook it any better were she to try.

"You still like western food?" she asked in an attempt to hide the undeniable smile that was forming across her face, using the fork he had placed in front of her to scoop up the blackened eggs, which tasted oddly good considering their appearance.

"Yup, always have, always will," he said as he sat down, with a plate of his own, in the chair across from her.

The two of them talked as they ate, joking and laughing, talking and smiling—just like old times. It wasn't until she had finished her meal that he asked the question she had been dreading—the question she had no answer for.

"So do I get to know why you're here?" he asked, resting his chin in the palm of his hand as he looked intently at the girl in front of him.

She paused, looking at him, and then back down at her empty plate where she began to rake her fork back and forth on the bits of charcoaled egg that were left behind.

"No," she finally said, knowing the answer wasn't an answer he would be satisfied with. But to her surprise, he laughed, leaned over, and patted her head like she was a small child, stirring an odd mix of emotions inside her- ranging from confusion, happiness, and the slightest bit of bitterness which she failed to understand why she felt.

"Okay," he told her smiling.

* * *

I feel I lost something halfway through this chapter. But it's summer now, so hopefully I'll have more time to focus and write.

And you should feel more than welcome to leave a review. :)


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